Resist and Build: Convening the US SE Movement

From 2020 to the present, USSEN has convened Resist and Build gatherings online, creating a space for translocal and national solidarity economy groups to engage in dialogue, collaborate, and build relationships.

USSEN is hosting an in-person gathering of the Resist and Build network in October 2023 in Richmond, VA, with some 75+ people already registered.

The convenings model a productive dialogue around reforming capitalism vs. pursuing and advocating for post-capitalism; encourage ties among movements resisting oppression and those building alternative systems and institutions; and invite participating organizations to practice working together by working together.

Circles formed out of these convenings continue to meet today around critical efforts:

The SE Narrative Circle highlights and documents strategic solidarity economy stories and various outlets for wider circulation;
The Solidarity Economy 101 workshop series developed by the SE Education Circle has been held multiple times with hundreds of participants and most recently trained trainers in New Economy Coalition’s member education circle;
The SE Politics and Policy Circle developed a candidate questionnaire about SE and organized resources about approaching electoral politics from an SE perspective;
The Arts Culture Care and SE Circle co-convened with NEC continues to strategize ways to center art, artists and culture bearers in SE work, aligned with USDAC, Art.coop, and others;
The SE in Academia Circle is exploring creating an SE syllabus and course plan for teachers.

Rationale for Resist and Build – excerpt from the original invitation

“This is a critical moment in history. We face multiple crises: environmental, growing social, economic and political divides, and a slide toward fascism, economic instability and war. There is an urgency to both resist these trends, and to build an alternative system for a just and sustainable future. Resistance without a clear vision of the alternative, risks merely reforming the current system, while building the alternative without roots in movements of resistance, with leadership from those on the forefront of struggle, risks both being exclusionary to these folks and their communities, and being co-opted by reactionary/status quo forces. While there is a growing overlap between the resist and the build movements, there is still too much distance between the two…

“Goals:

Articulate our collective position on connecting resist and build.
Sharpen the analysis of what system change we’re working for: post-capitalism vs. reform capitalism. Model a constructive dialogue about differences and aim to identify areas of collaboration/common interest.
Figuring out how to work together by working together eg. messaging on resist and build, strategizing and implementing concrete actions.”